Kismet
by Of the Shadows
Summary: Commodore Norrington couldn't help looking at the woman curiously. She had averted her eyes and he swore she looked embarrassed. "Thank you," she said grudgingly, "For saving my life." He almost laughed, almost. "Think nothing of it Miss. It was my duty."
1. A Prologue?

Kismet

**Kismet** is a word derived from Turkish and Hindi-Urdu, meaning Fate or Destiny, a predetermined course of events. The word evolved from Persian _qesmat_, from Arabic _qisma_, meaning "lot", from _qasama_, "to divide, allot". _Kismet_ is also used in Bulgarian, Macedonian, and in some dialects of Serbo-Croatian as luck.

* * *

><p>A Prologue…?<p>

The first thing he was consciously aware of was a pain in his abdomen. It wasn't excruciating, but it definitely was uncomfortable. Slowly, he opened his eyes. He found himself staring at a wooden ceiling. It took him a moment to recognize the familiar movement of a ship beneath him. He was staring not at a ceiling exactly, but the underside of a deck. He was on a ship!

He then realized with a start that he was lying in a remarkably comfortable bed. But that should be impossible! He had gone and saved the woman he loved, been run through by one Davy Jones's men, and later they threw his nearly lifeless body overboard like he was little more than waste. Was it possible one of the Navy's ships had spotted him and fished him up out of the ocean? He cast a glance around the room he was in and knew immediately this wasn't a Navy vessel.

His first attempt at sitting up failed miserably. He yelped as pain seared through his abdomen in protest to his attempts at movement. He augmented his strategy the next time and instead pushed himself to an upright position with his arms. Sitting up was certainly less comfortable than lying down but he felt much more vulnerable lying there in bed on a strange ship. He jumped slightly when the door to the cabin opened; he winced slightly as his stomach again throbbed. It seemed even the slightest movements irritated his wound.

Upon seeing the intruder he immediately recognized her. He couldn't help the disbelief and slight irritation that seeing her evoked in him. "It's you!" he croaked almost feebly. He was shocked by his tone of voice; he didn't feel as bad as he sounded. He cleared his throat. "Excuse me," he said more quietly. The softer tone was better, he sounded more like himself now.

He watched her carefully as she waved a dismissive hand. "There's nothing you should be apologizing about. Your reaction is more than understandable Admiral Norrington. How are you feeling right now?"

He glanced quickly around the room before his eyes again fell on the woman speaking to him. "Well, I suppose I'm not dead, so there is little I ought to be complaining about."

"Perhaps," she said softly as she leaned against the wall of her cabin her eyes, all the while, trained on him.

He couldn't help wondering how this had happened. How could it possibly be that, in his attempt to do the honorable thing- that is ultimately dying while trying to right a wrong he had done- he would be saved? And not by just anyone, but a pirate! How much further was he destined to fall?

"I know what that look means," the woman said, her tone slightly annoyed. "You disappoint me Admiral, I would have hoped by this point you would have seen that the world is not so black and white as you would like it to be."

"Oh?" he asked, his tone was antagonistic. Not intentionally of course, it seemed she just brought out the worst in him. "Please, do explain."

She was frowning, "The world is not simply split down the line into the King's Navy, those citizens who do right, and pirates. There is a hell of a lot more to this world than that, so many shades of grey if you will."

Norrington snorted derisively.

"Yes," she said tiredly, barely controlling the urge to roll her eyes at the man. "Things aren't always as simple as they might seem. But I should have known better than to expect a man such as yourself to see that."

"A man like me?" he challenged hotly.

"Yes, a man like you," she replied, her tone infuriatingly even.

"So tell me, how would you describe a man such as myself?"

"Perhaps not as unkindly as you might imagine," he felt a thrill shoot through him when he saw how serious she looked as she spoke now. "Yes, you certainly are a stubborn pain in the arse. In fact, you're nearly a zealot where the law is concerned, and nigh on ruthless when you go without checking your conscience.

"But I've seen your good side as well," she continued, "Your stubbornness is borne more of your intent to stick to your convictions than anything else. A trait that is as important to a man of military standing, such as you are, as it is any good pirate- or human being for that matter. You have your beliefs and you won't let mere circumstance cause you to waver, not easily at least.

"You're strong, brave, and willing to own up to your mistakes. You've even attempted to make amends for your greatest mishap. Overall I'd say you're a good man, if perhaps a bit misguided at times, as we all are. In your case it was your position in the Navy and your being honor bound to your duty that blinded you. Not everyone has as good a reason to go astray."

Norrington stared at her for a while nearly slack jawed. There were some serious jabs at his character in there. But it seemed, for the most part, that she was complimenting him. "This woman you love- the one you almost died for. She certainly seems the fool for turning down your offer. You would do better than just well by her."

"She was in love with another," Norrington said on a sigh. "And I could never bring myself to make her unhappy. Even if it destroyed me to let her go, to have to see her with another man…"

He groaned softly, clearly in pain. "You should lie back down and continue to rest. You are not to be up and about for the duration of this trip at the very least. You, I am sure, do not wish to cause yourself further harm."

Obediently, he eased himself back down on his back. "I can't figure it out. Why go so far out of your way to save my wretched life?" He asked the ceiling.

There was a long silence after he asked this question, and he thought for a minute that she had slipped out of the room. But then he heard her breathing. After a moment she said quietly, "Really, it was a litany of reasons that drove me to it."

He wished suddenly that it was easier to sit up. Instead he did his best to prop himself up on his elbows in an attempt to get a better look at her. Even as he winced in pain she could see the stark confusion written on his face.

"Regardless of what you seem to believe I was indebted to you for saving my life. And I caught wind of what your people, and by extension you, were up to. On top of that, this ship and its crew turned up looking for me which gave me a means of going out in the first place. So I had them sail out to sea, the story was that you were out to destroy the pirate lords. So we headed toward Shipwreck Cove. The fact that we came across your nearly lifeless body was just God's way of telling me I had been right in my feelings. Or gut instinct, or whatever you'll call it. I had done what I was meant to do."

"But still, why? I am an officer in the King's Navy, why save my life?"

"You're still a man- and in this case, one that I was obligated to. Beyond that I have no sensible reason. After all, for the most part, you've made me your enemy."

"_I _made you my enemy? Your way of life made me your enemy," he countered harshly.

"Ah, playing the victim of circumstance. Such a simple role isn't it? Much easier than owning up to the truth of the matter. Because what do you really know of my life other than your base assumptions? I'm willing to wager that it's far less than you might imagine."

"Oh really?" he challenged.

"I've already told you Admiral, not everything is as simple as it seems. Life isn't always so clean cut as it may appear."

How did it come to this point indeed? A pirate who was indebted to an officer of His Majesty's Navy.


	2. The Dawn of an Adventure

Kismet

Adelina is a Spanish name meaning "little noble".

* * *

><p>The Dawn of an Adventure<p>

"_What is this?" The woman was speaking very raptly, clearly angry, in Spanish. She was average in height with long, straight, dark hair and olive toned skin. Her eyes were brown but at the moment there was a fire behind them that honestly wasn't uncommon._

_The men before her looked at each other clearly worried. None of them were sure what to say. After all, at the time it had seemed like a good idea. "Well, you see," one of the men ventured slowly. "At first we were just going to use her to… persuade them to do what we wanted. But then one of the British Naval ships came by and, well, somehow the girl wound up getting dragged along with us in our haste to escape."_

"_So what do you plan on doing with her?" The woman before them asked waspishly._

"_We could just kill her," another man said unperturbed by the idea._

_The woman's hand shot out so fast that the man who had put forth his idea didn't even have time to flinch before she backhanded him. His eyes were wide and very quickly a red mark appeared where her hand had connected with his face. "We are not uncivilized barbarians; we will not go about killing innocent children!"_

_The four men shrank back from this one woman her point clearly made. "Then what do we do with her?"_

_All five sets of eyes turned to the child in question. She was clearly of Spanish descent herself. She had handsomely toned olive skin, silky black wavy hair, and emerald green eyes. She looked between the adults observing her intently, she was clearly apprehensive herself._

_When the men looked back to the woman she glared at them. "The solution is simple," she said slowly. "It is not feasible to try to find the ship and the people to which she belongs, so it will be up to you from now on to make sure she is taken care of. In fact, the job will fall upon us all I believe._

_Again all five adults were looking at the girl. They had no idea how old she was nor even a clue as to her name. The woman knelt down on one knee and looked the girl in the eyes. "Do you understand me?" She asked a tender note suddenly creeping into her voice._

_The girl nodded mutely, clearly bemused. "Can you tell me your name, or how old you are?"_

_The girl opened her mouth tentatively, "Adelina Desoto, I'm four."_

_She had held up four fingers to make sure they had understood her._

"_Well Adelina, my name is Veronica. It seems like you may be staying with us for quite a while. I'm truly sorry that you were taken from your mother and father."_

_Adelina frowned, "Mamma…"_

Adelina's eyes popped open; she wasn't sure when she had fallen asleep. It was the middle of the day, if Veronica knew she'd go crazy on her. Adelina sat up and stretched, she looked around her room. It was small and sparsely furnished, but she was always well fed and otherwise taken care of. Besides, other than when she slept or felt a need to be away from people, she hardly ever was in her room.

As she slipped her boots on her mind wandered back to her dream. She wasn't sure why, of all the things that she could imagine, she dreamed about that. It had been _years _since that day. The day she first stepped foot on Trinidad and met Veronica. Veronica had kept to her word for the most part everyone had pitched in when Adelina was younger to take care of her. She had never in her time on Trinidad ever wanted for anything.

They all lived in a community just outside of the Port of Spain. For the most part, surprising as it may seem, their community was a quiet one, even at night. Of course, this would only be surprising if you understood that their community was made up almost exclusively of pirates and their families. For the most part, if they felt like getting rambunctious they went into the Port of Spain to let loose. If they didn't they would later have Veronica to face.

Veronica wasn't so much their captain as she was their overlord. She, herself, had quit pillaging years ago, before Adelina had even come to live on Trinidad. Instead Veronica oversaw her men, advising them and keeping them as organized as was possible with a group as large as the one she oversaw. She had three ships under her care and more than enough men to crew them all at once.

For the most part none of these facts made the least bit of difference to Adelina. So she was raised in a village by pirates. She wasn't a pirate herself, though there was a part of her that longed to be. Veronica had warned her away from that path long ago and Adelina had every intention of honoring that wish. After all, Veronica was as good as a mother to her. Maybe she hadn't directly raised Adelina, but it was by extension her care that had helped Adelina survive all these years.

Throughout the years there were only a handful of things Adelina was likely to do when she was bored. One was go a watch the blacksmith work, and he worked almost tirelessly it seemed. Another was going to see the horses. Taking care of them and spending time with them always had a calming effect on her. She sometimes went into the Port of Spain to whittle away the time. Or else she'd go to the beach and go for a swim. In a last ditch effort, if none of these other things interested her, she would go about the town and mingle with the various people who were out and about. There was always someone no matter the time of day, and it always was interesting.

The problem was that lately none of these things were holding her interest. The more she thought about it the more she came to realize that it may have been because, since she first came here, she had never once left this island. While maybe she would never be a pirate perhaps that shouldn't bar her from ever going out and exploring the world. More and more she thought that perhaps she wasn't meant to stay here her whole life.

She had thought a few times in the past to broach the subject with Veronica, but every time she was about to bring it up she would find herself tongue-tied. She was afraid that Veronica wouldn't agree and that she might, in fact, get angry at the notion of Adelina leaving. The woman may be brusque, but it was obvious that she felt some form of concern for Adelina's well being. If she didn't Adelina wouldn't even be here today.

Adelina had been so caught up in her thoughts that it wasn't until a hand clapped down on her shoulder that she realized anyone was trying to get her attention. She had jumped in surprise. "I was talking to you," the man who had stopped her was smiling down at her.

"Oh, sorry Aaron, I was just- a little lost in my own mind," Adelina said, she smiled apologetically.

Aaron was just a little older than Adelina's twenty-two years. His hair was always a mess, but it was kept short so he didn't have to worry about it getting too tangled, he had hazel eyes. He was muscular from wrangling horses all these years, but his face still had that boyish look to it. It was a look she realized he may never be able to get rid of.

"Yeah, you seem to be falling prey to that a lot lately. What's it that's been so all consuming to you?" Aaron was the stable boy, though he wasn't much of a boy anymore.

"Honestly? I've been wanting to get off of Trinidad, explore the world. Well, maybe not the world, but at least the rest of the Caribbean! I've been on this island for eighteen years and it isn't as though I can really remember anywhere else, I had been so little when I was brought here."

"Why would you want to go anywhere else? From my experience you're better off staying here. The rest of the world doesn't allow women the same freedoms you get here, you especially. After all you are Veronica's little princess aren't you?"

Adelina glared at Aaron, "That's not funny!"

He grinned back at her, "Of course it is. Especially because it's true! You're a spoiled little cretin."

"Spoiled little cretin am I?" Adelina challenged playfully. "How about we duel and see how spoiled little princess Adelina really is. Can't be too spoiled if I'm tough enough to whip you, can I?"

"Of course you could be, you know I'm no good with a sword."

"Coward," she taunted.

Aaron shrugged, "See me as you will."

Adelina sighed. "What do I do though Aaron? How can I possibly go about asking Veronica to go out adventuring? I mean, the best way for me to get off this god forsaken island is to leave with one of her ships and she'd never allow that."

"Oh I wouldn't, would I? Good to know you're forming assumptions about me. I would have hoped you'd have the backbone to actually approach me with this kind of request instead of just assuming the answer."

Adelina's back went rigid her eyes wide. Slowly, she turned to face Veronica. Though years had passed since the day they first met time had been good to Veronica. She still looked as good as she did then, there were a few more lines etched on her face (they were very fine though), they were easily hidden with just a touch of makeup.

"Y-you would let me go then?" Adelina asked tentatively.

Veronica frowned slightly, "If it is your wish to leave it would be wrong of me to stop you. I suppose I could allow you passage out of here with one of my ships. But you are not to take any part in the illicit activities of my crew, do you understand? And if you are to be caught you are to claim that you are naught more than a captive, is that clear?"

Both Adelina and Aaron were staring at Veronica; both had equally dumbfounded looks on their faces. "When is she leaving?" Aaron asked softly.

"That's up to Adelina isn't it? I have one of my ships leaving as soon as two weeks from now, but she can wait for another if that is her will. The final decision is up to her," Veronica surveyed Adelina carefully waiting to see her reaction.

Adelina took a step back, her hand instinctively going to her mouth as she contemplated this news, her gaze cast down to the ground. She could be gone in as soon as two weeks! The prospect was both exciting and terrifying at the same time. She looked quickly back up at Veronica, "I want to leave as soon as possible then!"

Veronica nodded slowly, "As long as you agree to my terms that is fine."

"Of course I agree! Why wouldn't I?" She was almost giddy with excitement.

Veronica's eyebrows shot up momentarily. Her gazed raked over Adelina and she smiled half heartedly, "I'll inform my men of the change."

With that said Veronica left Adelina and Aaron standing there. Though Adelina was excited it still hadn't fully sunk in what was happening. She turned to Aaron and smiled at him. "Can you believe it?"

Aaron, still looking shell shocked, shook his head slowly no. "I would never have thought- especially since she knows what it's like out there."

"Will you go with me Aaron?" she asked, her question was meant in all honesty. Aaron however couldn't help but wonder if she had thought before the words were out of her mouth.

"No, I rather like it here. The work may be hard and the company not always pleasant, but it's a lot better than what is out there. I think I'll stay thank you very much."

"Right, I'm sorry, I forgot. You don't appreciate the rest of the world…"

"Adelina you don't understand what the rest of the world is like! You, the way you are, dressed like that. You can't, you can't be yourself. Women are meant not to speak unless spoken to first, you're not meant to read anything other than the Bible, or learn to write. You're supposed to wear dresses and corsets, and petticoats and heels. The way you are they'll distrust you in an instant. They'll vilify and slander you in a second. They won't give you a second's thought, or a chance."

Adelina opened her mouth to retort but stopped halfway through forming the first word. She shut her mouth and thought about what she wanted to say. Finally she said slowly, "I have to take that chance. Besides, I can always come home if things don't work out and it turns out I don't like the rest of the world."

"It's easy to say that now, but it isn't so easy if they label you a pirate and throw in you in the stocks."

He saw with some satisfaction that this seemed to have the desired effect on her. "W-well – I… that won't happen. I know everything will turn out alright. Besides, I'm clever and I'm strong."

He saw the doubt there as she bit her lower lip. He had managed to make an impression on her thank the Lord. Maybe, just maybe, it will cause her to think twice instead of just barreling into things without careful consideration of the consequences. He patted her gently on the head. "It's fine if you go. Just please, for Veronica's sake, be careful."

Adelina nodded, she still had two weeks to get ready, but this conversation had given her much to think about. Which was probably a good thing.


End file.
